Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Group Harvard University, Prof. D. A. Weitz Cool Picture of the Moment

Colloidal systems allow direct imaging of the early nucleation events. The picture shows a 3D-reconstruction of a nucleus of the crystalline phase (black balls), formed inside a metastable colloidal liquid (shown by small blue dots). The highly anisotropic, fractal-like, structure of the nucleus stays in sharp contrast with the classical nucleation theory, which assumes the nuclei to be spherical.

For more information contact Eli Sloutskin.

Past cool pictures...